SOAR INITIATIVE MAY BE PUT ON NOVEMBER BALLOT.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Daily News Staff Writer Hoping to make a legal effort to invalidate in·val·i·date tr.v. in·val·i·dat·ed, in·val·i·dat·ing, in·val·i·dates To make invalid; nullify. in·val the SOAR initiatives a moot point moot point n. 1) a legal question which no court has decided, so it is still debatable or unsettled. 2) an issue only of academic interest. (See: moot) , Supervisor John Flynn on Tuesday will ask his board to place the countywide coun·ty·wide adv. & adj. Throughout a whole county: found at locations countywide; a countywide search. Adj. 1. measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. The motion comes on the heels of Ventura lawyer Robert Chatenever's threat to file a lawsuit lawsuit: see procedure; tort. against the county, which has refused to nullify nul·li·fy tr.v. nul·li·fied, nul·li·fy·ing, nul·li·fies 1. To make null; invalidate. 2. To counteract the force or effectiveness of. the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiatives because some of the petition signers may be living at a different address than where they are registered to vote. ``For minor technical reasons that really have no merit, there is an attempt to knock it off the ballot,'' Flynn said. ``It appears there will be continual efforts to knock it off the ballot. Therefore, in order to remove obstacles, I'm asking the Board of Supervisors to put it on the ballot.'' The proposal only needs support from three of five supervisors. Chatenever, who has declined to name his clients, wants the countywide measure, as well as those in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , Moorpark and Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. , taken off the ballot. He said he will most likely file the suit on Monday. It will cite a 1982 state Supreme Court ruling prohibiting use of the words ``as registered'' on the petitions. ``It's to enforce the requirements of the elections code,'' Chatenever said. SOAR activists this spring gathered 70,000 signatures - far more than needed - to force a November vote. But the petitions contained the phrase ``as registered.'' They maintain that at most, only the signatures of signers whose registered and living addresses differ should be nullified nul·li·fy tr.v. nul·li·fied, nul·li·fy·ing, nul·li·fies 1. To make null; invalidate. 2. To counteract the force or effectiveness of. . That would still leave more than enough valid signatures to force ballot votes in the county and all four cities, they said. Approval of Flynn's motion would only protect the countywide initiative. Supervisor Frank Schillo said he would support Flynn's motion, but only with an amendment establishing an Open Space Conservation District to purchase development rights on farmland owned by families whose children want to work outside the agriculture industry. ``I made that commitment to the public when I supported SOAR,'' he said. Money for development rights would come from foundations and possibly new taxes on future development. Supervisor Kathy Long vowed to reject Flynn's proposal. ``Land use is too complex to pass with initiatives,'' she said. ``If legislative bodies would do their jobs, you wouldn't need initiatives. And that's what I'm trying to do: my job.'' If the petitions are nullified by a judge, Long said she would have no sympathy for SOAR activists. ``If the initiative qualifies on its own merit, then that's how it should proceed,'' she said. ``But when you use the initiative process, it's your job to follow that process and make sure you dot the i's and cross the t's,'' she said. Robert Orellana, assistant county counsel, said approval of Flynn's motion would most likely protect the countywide initiative. ``If the supervisors put it on the ballot, it would stay on the ballot, barring a judge taking it off,'' he said. ``But if a judge took it off, it would not be because of the `as registered' issue. And I can't anticipate any reason why a court would take it off the ballot.'' Chatenever's clients could still appeal the cities' ballot measures - a move that would anger Flynn. ``People should have the opportunity to vote on such an important issue,'' Flynn said. ``By putting these propositions on the ballot, it engages the public fully.'' |
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